Ms Mary Lally:

Those in Europe have tried to address the issues that caused problems in the past by removing the labour issues regarding dock workers, for example, which is a huge issue in France and providing for that in social dialogue. They have not included that in the regulation. They are not talking about ferry operating services in ports. They tried to take those issues out of the regulation to get it through.

The ports sector in Ireland is very different from the ports sector in Europe. Our ports are limited companies. They are structured in a totally different way. They do not get financial aid from the Government. They are subject to company law and the Harbours Acts. They are expected to operate in a way that maximises the profits of the State asset and that pays a dividend back to the State. Our ports sector is different from most of the ports, and the way they are structured, in Europe. Many of the issues that caused problems in the past have been removed from this regulation and they have tried to deal with them in a different way.

The subsidiary issue is not an issue here because of the way our sector is structured but it is an issue in other countries. We do not know how this will progress as it is dealt with by working group but we will keep the committee informed. We can keep the ports sector informed as the working group progresses its work and we will consult with them if issues comes up.